FOCUS - CANNE: S'pore leads charge for Asian creativity at Cannes Lions awards

<p>Asian creativity is fast gaining in prominence on the world stage, </p><p>after the region collected a total of 17 Lions at the 2000 Cannes Lions </p><p>awards, almost double the number won last year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But it was Singapore which once again led the charge, romping home with </p><p>eight Lions, compared with just four in 1999. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Japan trailed a distant second with two Lions, followed by Thailand, </p><p>Hong Kong and India. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Singapore's dominance was also reflected in the MEDIA-organised Asian </p><p>Advertising Awards 1999, at which the island republic won a total of 35 </p><p>awards, including the 'Best of the Best' prize. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Thailand and Hong Kong held second and third places respectively. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Regional creative directors said that Singapore's dominance stemmed from </p><p>the fact that the Lion City was a melting pot of different cultures, </p><p>which lent itself to producing advertising with an international </p><p>flavour. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>BBDO Hong Kong joint executive creative director Paul Chan said, "There </p><p>are a lot of good ideas and concepts being generated out of Hong </p><p>Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"But the problem is that it is driven by local culture and language, </p><p>which international judges have difficulty understanding or even </p><p>appreciating." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ogilvy & Mather regional creative director Tham Khai Meng said one of </p><p>Singapore's biggest advantages was that "there is an openness in </p><p>accepting expatriate talent - either from elsewhere in Asia or from the </p><p>West - and this has rubbed off on us in that our advertising is not as </p><p>parochial as in Hong Kong". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Saatchi & Saatchi regional creative director Craig Davis said the bigger </p><p>haul of awards from Cannes this year was the result of Asia-Pacific's </p><p>economic recovery. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"With the pick-up in the economy, advertising budgets increase and there </p><p>is a pick-up in confidence. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"This confidence results in braver creative work being produced, which, </p><p>more often than not, stands out," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, Ogilvy & Mather emerged as the top agency in </p><p>Asia-Pacific. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It scooped five Lions, including two golds. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>O&M subsidiary Results in Bangkok struck gold in the print category for </p><p>a Tobasco sauce ad for client Sino Pacific Trading Thailand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>O&M's other gold was awarded for its Scrabble television commercials for </p><p>Mattel, entitled 'Syphilis' and 'Sodomised'. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Second-placed Dentsu garnered two awards, including one gold for a print </p><p>ad promoting Japan Lighting Design. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>2000 CANNES LIONS (By Country) </p><p> Total No. Gold Silver Bronze Total No. Total No. </p><p>Country of Entries Lions Lions Lions of Lions Short Listed </p><p>Singapore 385 (185) 1 1 6 8 (4) 41 (23) </p><p>Japan 466 (488) 1 1 0 2 (0) 8 (1) </p><p>Thailand 111 (109) 1 0 1 2 (3) 10 (16) </p><p>Hong Kong 110 (131) 0 1 0 1 (1) 9 (4) </p><p>India 245 (171) 0 0 2 2 (1) 10 (6) </p><p>China 33 (41) 0 0 1 1 (0) 1 (0) </p><p>Malaysia 49 (33) 0 0 1 1 (0) 6 (2) </p><p>Philippines 71 (61) 0 0 0 0 (0) 4 (0) </p><p>Vietnam 10 (7) 0 0 0 0 (0) 1 (1) </p><p>Taiwan 37 (45) 0 0 0 (0) 0 (1) </p><p>Korea 136 (74) 0 0 0 (0) 0 (0) </p><p>Indonesia 3 (1) 0 0 0 (0) 0 (0) </p><p>Total 1,656 (1,346) 3 3 11 17 (9) 90 (54) </p><p>No. 1999 figures in brackets </p><p>2000 CANNES LIONS (By Agency) </p><p>Agency Gold Silver Bronze Total </p><p>Ogilvy & Mather 2* 1 2 5 </p><p>Dentsu 1 1 0 2 </p><p>TBWA 0 1 0 1 </p><p>Saatchi & Saatchi 0 0 3 3 </p><p>Leo Burnett 0 0 3 3 </p><p>Grey 0 0 2 2 </p><p>Bates 0 0 1 1 </p><p>Total 3 3 11 17 </p><p>*Including Results Bangkok. </p><p>ASIAN ADVERTISING AWARDS 1999 </p><p>Country Best Certificate Craft Total </p><p>Singapore 5 (5) 21 (17) 9 (14) 35 (36) </p><p>Thailand 5 (3) 15 (17) 0 (0) 20 (20) </p><p>Hong Kong 5 (1) 14 (7) 6 (7) 25 (15) </p><p>Japan 2 (2) 3 (1) 0 (0) 5 (3) </p><p>Malaysia 1 (1) 5 (2) 0 (0) 6 (3) </p><p>China 0 (0) 3 (0) 0 (0) 3 (0) </p><p>Philippines 0 (1) 1 (1) 0 (0) 1 (2) </p><p>Taiwan 0 (0) 0 (1) 0 (0) 0 (1) </p><p>Total 18 (13) 62 (46) 15 (21) 95 (80) </p><p>> </p><p>*Excludes Best of the Best </p><p>no. 1998 figures in brackets. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>